“You’ve Already Got It” by Andrew Wommack

Imagine you were the devil in the Garden of Eden trying to tempt Adam and Eve. How would you do it? This is a question that Andrew Wommack asks in his book, You’ve Already Got It. Adam and Eve were flawless and lived in paradise with all of their needs abundantly supplied. So how would you tempt them? You couldn’t tempt them with money; they don’t need anything. You couldn’t tempt them with adultery; there’s no one to commit adultery with. There’s only one way that you can tempt perfect people living in a perfect place and that’s by telling them, “You don’t have it all; there’s more!”

This lie, which worked so effectively in the Garden, is the same lie the devil uses on the church today. “You don’t have it all – you need more faith, more power, more anointing, more righteousness.” Believing the lie we waste time asking for what we already have. So what do we have? We have Jesus! As He is, so are we in this world (1 Jn 4:17). That means we have the same power (Eph 1:19-20), anointing (1 Jn 2:20), victory (1 Cor 15:57), and holiness (1 Cor 1:30) that Jesus has.

Let’s take faith as an example. Many Christians are handicapped by the notion that they don’t have enough faith. They pray for the sick, nothing happens, so they think, “I must have little faith; I need more faith.” So they go on a faith-hunt and leave the sick unhealed. But Paul said he lived by the faith of the Son of God (Gal 2: 20). There is nothing wrong with Jesus’ faith! Our faith is a gift from God (Eph 2:8) and God doesn’t give bad gifts. So if faith is not the problem, what is? The problem is we don’t know just how good we’ve got it. Paul prayed “that the communication of your faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus” (Phm 1:6). We don’t need to ask God for more faith; we need to renew our minds and acknowledge every good thing that is already in us on account of Jesus.

Take power as another example. Many Christians think they are powerless pawns in a cosmic game of chess being played between God and the devil. This mindset makes them passive spectators in their own lives. When the devil comes to rob and destroy they just stand by and watch. Or maybe they cry out and ask God to rebuke the devil for them. But God has given you His authority. He has promised that the devil will flee when you resist him (Jas 4:7). Here’s Wommack:

You don’t need more power. You just need to believe that you already have it and begin to discover how it operates… This understanding will change you from being a murmurer, complainer, whiner, and griper into a believer who takes his authority, stands, and demands Satan not to steal what God has given. It’s a totally different attitude! Instead of being petrified and hiding in a corner praying, ‘God, please get the devil off my back,’ you’ll stand there and say, ‘Where is he? I just dare Satan to show his ugly face. I’m going to fight him to the death because I have authority and power!’ (pp.31-32)

Fight the right battle

In You’ve Already Got It, Wommack talks a lot about spiritual warfare. There is a battle going on, he says, but it’s not out in the heavenlies. The battlefield is your mind. Paul warns us against Satan’s wiles in Ephesians 6 – his lies, cunningness, and craftiness – because that’s all he’s got. He has no power and no authority except that which we give him. All he has is deception. So how does Satan try to deceive us?

But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. (2 Cor 11:3)

Satan’s aim is to corrupt our minds from simple, childlike faith in Christ. “In other words, he tries to make us think that the Gospel is harder than it really is” (p.115). He complicates and confuses things and does whatever it takes to distract us from Jesus. He’ll even encourage us to engage in spiritual warfare, as long as it’s warfare on his terms:

‘Spiritual warfare,’ as it’s popularly presented today, is actually a ploy of the devil. Consider the fruit: Christians are encouraging Christians not to preach the Gospel but just to ‘pray’ instead. You might wonder, Why would Satan want believers to pray more? Simple! The devil delights when we give ourselves to praying fruitless, religious prayers. (p.149)

Wommack argues that we don’t need to engage in spiritual mapping or documenting the demonic heritage of our cities. Neither do we need to enlist a million Christians to fast and pray and bind powers. The best antidote to Satan’s deception is the truth. It’s knowing the Truth that sets people free. “I wage spiritual warfare over a city or a country by sending in the truth!” (p.140)

Many believers think they have little to no power and that Satan has plenty. They’re wrong on both counts. Yet in their ignorance and unbelief, they re-empower a disarmed enemy. Read your Bible. The same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you (Rms 8:11). Satan, on the other hand, was defeated 2000 years ago. Jesus made an exhibit out of him much as a biology student might make an exhibit out of a bug (Col 2:15)! If that strikes you as over the top or a bit much, then you don’t fully value what Jesus has done and you don’t appreciate what He’s given you:

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. (Eph 1:3)

We have been blessed with everything we need, but those blessings are in the spiritual realm. How do we receive them? By faith! Faith is the bridge that brings what is true in the spiritual world into the physical world.

And this is the point where the devil tries to thwart us. It’s like he’s on that bridge telling us we lack favor, blessings, or our Father’s approval. He would have us believe that our faith moves God (He’s already moved!) and that we need to do stuff to get what we need (Jesus has done it all!). If we don’t refute this nonsense with the truth, we’ll end up asking for things with longwinded, beggarly prayers of unbelief. We may feel like we are operating in faith, but it’s misdirected faith. It’s actually unbelief in the promises and provision of a good God.

Look to the cross!

Look to Jesus who has overcome the world! We should be fighting from a place of victory, not fighting to get the victory. Satan would have you conscious of your lack (“I need healing or provision”) but Jesus has already given us everything we need for life and godliness (2 Pet 1:3). His instructions to us are the same as what He told the Christians in Thyatira:

Only hold on to what you have until I come. (Rev 2:25)

The only way we can lose what we have is if we put more faith in the devil’s word than God’s word, if we start thinking, I don’t have everything I need so I better do something. That’s anti-Christ, anti-cross and it’s not good news! It’ll get your eyes off Jesus and His work and onto you and yours. God’s divine power is revealed in our life “through the knowledge of Him who called us” (2 Pet 1:3). If the devil can get your eyes off Him, he wins and you lose. It’s a diabolically clever ploy that has been working since the Garden of Eden.

Anyway, I’m starting to preach and this is supposed to be a book review.

Read You’ve Already Got It if you’re not sure exactly what you’ve got or if you want to learn how to receive what you’ve been given. Like Wommack’s other books (e.g., A Better Way to Pray, God Wants You Well), this is a how-to book. Anyone can find fault with bad theology but Wommack gives practical steps on how to exercise your faith and see the gifts of God (e.g., healing and deliverance) manifest in your life. This book strips away religious clutter, leaving you in awe of all Jesus has done.
___

Share this now!

21 Comments on “You’ve Already Got It” by Andrew Wommack

“We may feel like we’re operating in faith, but it’s misdirected faith. It’s actually unbelief in the promises and provision of a good God.” So, would you say this is what Jesus was talking about when He said the disciples had little faith? Or they failed because of their unbelief (same root word as faith)?

I like this post. I have some questions though that I hope you can offer thoughts on. From reading this, it brought to mind an issue that I think may be a problem for many Believers. I think that most people associate “belief” and “faith” as being the same thing and as a result they think of “unbelief” and “lack of faith” as being the same. I’m guessing that you’d say they are actually different, and I think I’m inclined to agree with you if that’s the case. They are certainly related of course, but I can see where these terms might cause problems for people in various interpretation and theology issues. Also, regarding the “faith” issues, what about the verses in the Gospels that refer to Jesus being amazed by someone’s faith or saying that their faith has made them whole? My thought process is this, their “faith” that they exhibited was before the cross and resurrection. They didn’t specify acknowledgment of Jesus as God, thinking of the centurion and woman who touched his garment, among others, yet Jesus told them their faith had granted healing. Regarding the centurion, He even said that He had not seen such great faith in all of Israel. How do you distinguish this from what Wommack is talking about? Is it a different kind of faith? Is it a translation / interpretation issue with the wording? I am not trying to be “difficult”. I assume there is a way to reconcile the seeming conflict.

One of the things distinguishing the two people with great faith (the Centurion and the Canaanite woman) is that they were both Gentiles and therefore their view of God was unobstructed by the law. The Jews had old covenant faith. Old covenant faith is me trying to impress God; new covenant faith is me being impressed by Jesus. Old covenant faith will get you examining yourself (“do I have enough faith?”); new covenant faith will get you examining Jesus (“I live by the faith of the Son of God”). I will talk more about unbelief in tomorrow’s post.

You raise an intriguing point about people being healed before the cross. I guess that just proves God’s redemption is so awesome it’s not constrained by time and space.

Thanks for the invite! I used to travel extensively but these days I’ve become a home-body and don’t go much further than the kids’ school and kindergarten. But I know Camilla has always wanted to go to India, so who knows.

I dont know why i feel something is slightly off with andrew wommack. If its already done and he says God doesnt heal anymore…wat is the holy spirit for? That man doesnt talk about the works of the holy spirit at all. Did anyone ever read the believers pray after the death n ressurection of christ which stated God stretch out your hand and perform great wonders through the name of your holy servant jesus christ? Why does God say the same spirit who raised christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies? Why did christ say if yoy have faith in my name you can do even greater works than these as i am going to the father. Lay hands on the sick and they will recover. So does andrew think when he lays his hands on the sick he has healed them or God has through the name of jesus? Who sets the captives free? Andrew is it?! Why do i feel something is missing in his teachings? Like father ams son but no holy spirit!!!

Paul i cant understand one thing….im not critising the man..bless him…but he says christ has already heal us so basically if dats true then all we need ti do is keep praising God dat by his stripes we are healed and we will see pur manifestation. Whats the point of praying for tge sick if God has already healed them? Basically they shud jyst beliece they are already healed n thank God right? Coz andrew clearly says God doesnt heal anymore. He has already healed u

He means that God has already provided everything we need to be healed through the sacrifice of his Son (see Eph 1:3). We pray for people so that they might receive that provision. Here’s a quote from his book A Better Way to Pray:

When I minister healing to someone, I’ll pray for them two, three, four, or more times. I don’t care! I’m willing to pray for them until I rub all the hair off of their head! However, I’m not going back to God and saying, ‘Father, it didn’t work the first time. Let it work now, please!’ No! I believe it happened because God is faithful. He gave, but something’s wrong with our receiver. So I work on it. If the devil withstands one dose of the Holy Spirit, I’ll shoot him again! Just like Jesus did with the blind man of Bethsaida (Mark 8:22-26), I pray until I see the answer manifest. You need to get this attitude that God is faithful and He’s already met your need before you ever had it. (p.125)

Ok paul..i just read through ure site. Now tell me something ive been wrecking my brains over this line for seven months thanks to andrews youtube video. The phrase” by his stripes” simply means that christ already jas healed you at the cross or christ mas paid the price for you to be healed.
Secondly when.someone commands a sick body to be healed in jesus name what exactly am i putting my faith in? God healing me through that name or i healing myself? Im so confused. Pls explain.

“He already gave but something is wrong with the receiver”… If someone prayed healing over me for something and then told me it was not happening because something is wrong with me, I would have much to say about that.. That sounds condemning and it’s like saying, “well, I’m not sure why you’re not healed.. God definitely wants you to be, but you’re not, so I’m not sure what’s wrong with your receiver! Um, I LOVE what you write, it’s changing me to the core but something is striking a nerve about A.W., and like Mimi, I can’t put my finger on it. What am I missing?

HI Paul! Don’t know if you’re still monitoring this post but i’ll ask anyway: There were a few sticking points for me in this book such as the concept that if someone is healed and then their faith becomes compromised in some way, then they will become sick again. The book almost seems to blame people for being sick because they don’t have enough faith “to use what God has already given them.” Do you have any thoughts on this? I also found that the Holy Spirit was totally lacking in the discussion. Some parts of this book are very good, grace-filled, and practical while others seem to go against the character of God.

When you pay close attention to scripture you’ll notice that there’s nothing wrong with AW interpretation. For Example; every-time Joshua entered an occupied territory he would ask God whether he could attack the enemy and drive them out. God always responded by saying “I HAVE given them into your hand”. Notice the tense. It’s past tense. Yet Joshua had not even lifted one finger against his enemy. They have not yet fought a single battle. Yet God already declared him the victor.

All across scripture God remains consistent. You will always notice the He has “Blessed”, “saved”, “delivered”, “redeemed”, “healed” etc… It’s always presented in past tense for the simple fact that in the spiritual realm where God operates, it’s already done. Your part is to receive by faith.

It really is that simple and maybe that’s why your’re a bit apprehensive. We as humans, living in a corrupt world system, always make things more complicated than they really are.

If God says it’s done, our rational minds will try and make some excuse or formula to try and earn God’s favor because that’s how we have been programmed by the world system. We believe in earning our victory or blessing.

God’s system is simple. He says, “it’s done”. Jesus said on the cross “it’s finished”. It’s all past tense. The Holy Spirit’s job is to point us to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.

I don’t think claiming the promises of God or praying your spirit out will change the world. In part yes, but only Jesus will when HE returns. Then we will have the paradise again. Healing is more than just healing our bodies. Think about Lazarus and all Christians suffer death and sickness. Even Andrew Womack will. It is no shame. The greater healing is we have Eternal life, Incorruptible spirit and after the restoration will have heavenly bodies. That is what is really important. We can heal in part now, but is that not to win more souls to have ETERNAL life. Not saying it is not Gods will all are healed but due to man’s first sin and generation of sin, the world is sad place, because sin has had 2000 years to dig in. We can be coworkers with the Lord, but it won’t be fixed until He returns and then He said will I find faith on the earth, didn’t He?